Cotton-boll puller.



J. RODOCKER & R. L. BUTCHER. COTTON BOLL FULLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1916.

Patented Apr. 23,1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

JAMES R. EODOCKER AND ROBERT L. BUTCHER, F HOLLIS, OKLAHOMA.

COTTON-130L311 FULLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, thtd.

Application filed Maytfi, 1916. terial No. 100,08t.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that we, J AMES K. Ronocnrn and ROBERT L. BUTCHER, citizens of the United States, residing at Hollis, in the county of Harmon and State of Oklahoma, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Boll Pullers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for pulling cotton bolls subsequently to the picking or harvesting of cotton.

Most cotton ginning establishments at the present time are provided with machinery for threshing and otherwise treating cotton bolls and delinting the same for the purpose of saving the lint adhering thereto, the

lint thus saved amounting to a not inconsiderable item of profit.

The pulling of the cotton bolls by hand is, however, quite a hard task and one which entails quite an item of expense. The present invention has for itsobject to produce a simple and effective organized machine whereby the cotton bolls may be stripped from the stalks for subsequent treatment.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and effective machine for stripping the cotton bolls from the stalks and for conveying the bolls to the gin house or to some convenient lace of deposit, said machine including a llght frame structure which may be easily transported and which is equipped with receptacles of great capacity for the reception of cotton bolls, said receptacles being constructed mainly of flexible textile material, such as canvas, the same being stretched over suitable supports erected on the frame, thereby producing receptacles of the necessary capacity in a simple and inexpensive manner.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described. and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, undersood that no limitation is necessarily made to the recise structural details therein exhibited,

ut that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claim may be resorted to when deslred.

- Tnthe drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine constructed in accordance with the inven- Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4. in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation.

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the means for efi'ecting adjustment of the rearward end of the frame.

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the means for effecting vertical adjustment of the forward end of the frame.

Fig. 8 is a detail view illustrating a modified construction of the means for stripping the bolls from the elevating conveyors.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The frame structure of the machine includes a pair of longitudinally disposed substantially parallel sills the forward ends of which are offset upwardly, as seen at 16, and provided with caster wheels 17, the shanks of which have been shown as being journaled in sleeves l8 extendin vertically through the sills and vertically a j ustable by means of nuts 19 threaded externally on said shanks and abutting on the top and bottom ends of the shanks. It will be seen that by sleeves may be adjusted, thereby effecting vertical ad ustment'of the front ends of the sills with respect to the wheels 17.

The rearward ends of the sills are provided with boxes 20 for the main shaft or axle 21, said boxes bein provided with threaded shanks 22 extending through the sills and equipped with nuts 23 whereb vertical adjustment of the boxes may be e ected relatively to the sills, which latter may thus be vertically adjusted relatively to the grpund engaging wheels 24 carried by thb ax e. The superstructure supported on the sills includes cross bars 25, 26 and posts or uprights 27, 28 rising from the inner ends of the front and rear cross bars. Similar uprights 29, 30 rise from the outer ends of the cross bars 25, 26, the former of which are located relatively near the front ends of the sills. The upper ends of the front uprights 27, 29 are connected together by a cap beam the elevators.

31, and a similar cap beam 32 is mounted at the upper ends of the rearward uprights 28 30. I

- The uprights 27, 28 afiord bearings for shafts 33, 34, said shafts being positioned,

respectively, near the upper and the lower" ends of the respective uprights, said upper and lower shafts being equipped with sprocket wheels 35, 36v over which the eleelevator at each side of the machine. Each vator chains 37 are-trained, there being one elevator is composed of the chains 37 which are connected together at intervals by cross bars 38 carrying prongs or spikes 39 which are set sufliciently close together on the cross bars to engage the cotton stalks and to forcibly detach the bolls therefrom. The

prongs or spikes 39 are made of such length STIPPOI'tBd adjacent to the outer leads of the elevators and suitably spaced therefrom are longitudinal bars 41 having teeth 42, said toothed bars constituting combs whereby the bolls will be raked or removed from the spiked arms or slats of the elevators, the

bolls falling outwardly over the bars 41 and into receptacles arranged for their reception, as will be presently described. Guard plates 43 extend from the comb bars 41 downwardly to the sills with which they are connected.

'In Fig. 8 has been illustrated a modified form whereby a rotary comb is substituted 7 described. By this modification a rotaryv for the stationary comb which has been just shaft 73 has been substituted for the stationary comb bar, said shaft being pro- .vided with radial teeth 42', and said shaft deriving motion from one of the conveyer shafts 33 by means of a chain 74 trained over sprockets 75, 76 on the respective shafts.

It is thought thatby this construction the bolls will be detached more efliciently than by the stationary comb.

The sills are provided near their rearward ends with cross pieces 44 on which posts or uprights 45 are supported, said uprights being connected at their upper ends by, a cap beam 46. Wall members 47 of textile material, light sheet metal or the like,

are stretched around the uprights 29, 30 and 45, said wall members being terminally connected with the guard plates 43 adjacent to the front and rear edges of the latter.

Bottom members 48 are supported on the cross bars 25, 26 and 44, said bottom members combining with the guard plates 43 and cles for the cotton bolls as the latter are being detached from the elevators by the combs provided for the purpose. By the construction just described receptacles of great capacity are provided to receive the cotton bolls that are being detached from the plants, thus enabling a large load to be accumulated before discharging the same from the harvester. The machine, which is intended to straddle the row of cotton plants from, which the bolls are to be detached, is provided at its forward end with forwardly divergent guide members 49 whereby the cotton plants will be guided between the elevators which are constructed and equipped to detach the bolls therefrom. It will be understood that the spikes or prongs on the cross bars or slats of the elevators are to be constructed in an appropriate manner for the purpose of detaching the bolls and that they are to be set so close together that there will be no likelihood of any bolls passing therebetween and being left on the stalks.

The upper shafts 33 of the respective elevators are shown as being provided at their rear ends with bevel gears 50. Bevel gears 51 are also mounted on the shaft or axle 21, and motion is transmitted from the bevel gears on the axle to the bevel gears on the elevator shafts by upright shafts 52 provided at their lower and upper ends with bevel pinions 70, 71, meshing with the re spective bevel gears. It is obvious that when the frame of the machine is adjusted vertically with respect to the ground either the pinion or 71 will require to be adjusted on their respective shafts, and such adjustment may be effected in any well known manner; for instance by keying said pinions slidably on their shafts and providing any suitable means for holding them in ad usted position. Such means however, are well known in many kinds of machinery and does not require to be herein particularly shown .or illustrated. Clutch mechanism including clutch members 60 and adjusting levers 61 has been shown for the purpose of throwing the moving parts of the machine in and out of gear, and it will be understood that clutch means adapted to be controlled by a single lever may be substituted for the purpose of throwing all the moving parts of the machine out of gear by a single movement of said lever.

Draft means, such as swingletrees 55, are to be connected with the forward ends of the sills in order that draft animals may be attached to the machine in such a manner as to permit them to walk between the rows of plants and adjacent to opposite sides of the row that is being operated upon.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention am he readiiy rataast understood. The loolls detached, hy the e evators will be delivered into the receptacles at the two sides of the machine and may thus be conveniently carried to a house or other place of deposit." The rent and rear ends of the sills on which the superstructure of the machine is supported may he raised or lowered to the most con'vement'position for engaging the plants that are to be operated upon. The

general construction of the machine is simle and inexpensive, and it will he found to e thoroughly eficient for the purposes for which it is provided.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is p In a machine of the 'classdescribed, a Wheeled supporting frame including longitudinal sills, cross bars supported by each of said sills at the front and rear ends and intermediate the front and rear ends thereof, the cross-bars supported by the two sills heing spaced apart, uprights rising from the inner ends of the front and-intermediate cross bars, uprights rising from the outer of the fixed guard plates, partly of endsof the front intermediate and rear cross bars, additional uprights risin from.

the rear cross bars adjacent to the si ls, cap

wall members terminally 'connected with the side edges of the guard plates, said Wall members heing trained about the posts rising from the cross bars supported on the sills, and partly of bottom members supported on said cross bars.

tures. i

JAMES K. ,nonocmn.

Attesti E. P, Envvanns,

G. F. EDWARDS.

xihle In testimony whereof we afix our signa- -ROBER'l L. BUTCHER. 

